


How We Got From There to Here

by happyaspie



Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Accurate Portrayal of ASD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Peter Parker, Class Trip, FIRST Initiative: Equity Diversity & Inclusion, FIRST Robotics Competition - Freeform, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Irondad, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Meltdown, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker is a Mess, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, Robotics, Sensory Overload, Sleepy Cuddles, Soft Peter Parker, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Supportive Tony Stark, Temper Tantrums, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Loves Peter Parker, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, Tony Stark is helping, mild Self-harm, soft tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 04:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18887065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: In which the tags speak for themselves.





	How We Got From There to Here

**Author's Note:**

> My portrayal of Autism is not accurate for every person on the Autism Spectrum. There is no way to do that. Everyone presents differently
> 
> The Robotics mentioned are very, very much completely based off of FIRST Robotics Competition. I tried to be general but if I confuse yo somewhere I totally encourage you to look it up. It's pretty awesome and I swear Tony and Peter would eat this up. xD
> 
> Sorry, it's so long. I was going to divide it into chapters but I couldn't find a good place to do that.
> 
> This isn't my typical brand but I put a lot of time into it so I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
>  
> 
>  **[1-29-2020]** As FRC's 2020 season is well underway, I was reminded of this fic and came in to clean it up a bit, add tags, make a few tiny clarifications and correct what Ford Field is used for. My son's FRC team went to the Huston for their trip to World's trip so everything was based on that. 
> 
> A few people have asked me what team my son is on and I respectfully prefer to not disclose since this fic is so closely (but not exactly) based on our experience. 
> 
> There have also been a lot of people asking me to write more 'Autistic Peter' and I'm just not sure that's in the cards. This fic was something of a vent? for me and I'm not sure I could reproduce it. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has liked and commented on this fic. Your support is astounding.

\--------------- 💙🕷️❤️ --------------

 

When Tony first met Peter Parker he had noticed a few things. The kid was jittery, stuttered and avoided eye-contact as if it would burn. He didn't think too much of it. He was Tony Stark. People often acted nervous around him. A result of being well known, always in the face of the public and even more so since taking on the moniker, Iron Man.  He didn't notice a whole lot outside of that for a long time.  After all, his contact with the kid was limited to a very few interactions and most of them were brief or he was too angry to pick up on anything else other than maybe, that the boy has some serious issues with following directions.

 

It was later when the kid had slipped up and his aunt found out about his extracurricular activities that he started to pick up on more.  Peter was spending a good bit of time with him in the lab now.  As he did so, he started to notice more and more things about his new mentee.  Like, the fact that he could talk circles about whatever subjects he wanted to talk about but the second Tony would change the subject the kid would revert to one-word replies.  The repetitive fidgeting the kid did with his hands and fingers had also caught his attention.  He definitely noticed that the boy never asked for anything.  If he did it was just on the verge of frantic.  Like the first time, Peter had ever had to ask where the bathroom was or when Tony lost track of time one Saturday and the boy hadn't had anything to eat or drink in hours.  He eventually learned that Peter was just in general... awkward, from the way he moved to the way he talked.  It was subtle but he could see it now.  Not that he minded in the least, the boy was wicked smart and his smile was damn near contagious.

 

It was when he was sharing coffee with Peter's Aunt May, one afternoon that he learned that there was more to the kid's awkwardness than just being a bit of a nerd.  He had mentioned something about the kid's constant fidgeting when May had corrected him and used the word stemming.  He hadn't really known what she meant until he got home and looked it up.  Then it all started to fall into place.  Peter wasn't just awkward, he had Autism.  When he had called her later to verify she was shocked that he hadn't already figured it out.  They stayed on the phone for quite a while discussing it.  After that, Tony became much more tuned-in to Peter and his idiosyncrasies.

 

One afternoon as they were working together in the gym, Peter was rambling on and on about robotics.  Nothing specific, just robotics in general. He seemed to know an awful lot about it as the words flowed out of his mouth in rapid succession.   When Tony finally felt like he could get a word in he asked him why he'd quit the robotics team at his school if it was something he was so into.  Peter had grown quiet for a moment before expressing that the team didn't like him.  That had Tony's attention.  How could anyone not like Peter?  

 

"I thought your best friend, whats-his-face, was on the team with you?", he asked.

 

"Yeah, Ned.  He does the programming.  I like engineering.  We didn't work together.", Peter said offering Tony a rare split second of eye-contact.  That was happening more and more often and he loved it because May said it meant that the kid trusted him.

 

"You're a natural at Robotics, the team would be lucky to have you on it."  After that nothing else was said about the subject and discussion when back to Peter rambling on about pneumatics and hydraulics, something he had taken a recent liking to. Tony finally had to cut him off to ask him if he needed some water.  When the boy enthusiastically downed the entire bottle in one long breath, Tony, gently reminded him where the bottles were kept and he could get one whenever he wanted it.  He almost laughed when Peter gave him an indignant 'I know' because he'd never once gotten one by himself despite _knowing_ where they were.

 

After Peter had gone home that evening, he made a phone call.  A guy he had gone to college with had started a small community robotics team right there in Manhattan a couple of years ago.  He'd been quietly sponsoring the team since it's rookie season, however, he'd never actually gone out to the shop they used to meet any of them.  After talking to Rob about Peter, it became clear that this was more than likely a much better fit for the kid that his school team had been and he was excited to check it out.  

 

The first time Tony had entered the workspace, he expected to be surrounded by a bunch of hero-worshipping teenagers but it seemed that they had been prepared for his visit and all he got was a multitude of thank you's and handshakes before being led on a tour of the facility and introduced to the robot they had built for the previous season's game.  It was all very impressive.  All of them were so polite and friendly that he was actually kind of sorry he hadn't brought Peter with him. 

 

The next week, with May's blessing, when he did bring Peter to the shop he was sort of expecting the kid to see the large group of teenagers gathered in the smallest meeting room and turn on his heels.  When he didn't Tony was thrilled.  In fact, if the fluttering of his hands by his sides was any indication, he would say the boy was excited to be there.  As they were shown around the workshop portion of the building, no one seemed bothered by Peter interrupting whatever they were saying to insert information that he already knew, nor did they seem fazed when he criticized their choice in wheel design or climbing mechanism.  They _thanked_ him for his input.  By the end of the night, Peter was ready to come back and be apart of the team.  

 

By the time January rolled around and the build season really started, Tony was starting to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.  Meetings went from once a week to nearly every day.  Most days Peter wanted to be there, he had become an intricate part of the team, especially during the design process.  Some days he fought it saying that Patrolling was more important. Other days he was conflicted to the point that Tony or May had to pry his hands out of his hair and coach him through it.  They never did find a perfect balance but by the time the six week build period was up and competitions were starting, Peter was eager to see the robot in action.  

 

The team attended two district competitions and won both, once as the alliance captain and once as the first choice of the top team.  They had also gotten an award for quality at both competitions.  There was a great deal of excitement when they made it to the state competition.  It was by far the best season the team had ever had.  Tony wanted to believe that it had everything to do with Peter but he never said it.  It was called a team for a reason.  

 

The state competition had been iffy at best with Peter.  It was much larger than the district competitions.  The crowds were a little tighter and it was loud, even for Tony.  He was glad he's packed the kid his sound-canceling headphones, he wished he'd packed himself some.  By the end of the event, the kid was getting tense and cranky but they made it.  When the team lost in the first round of the finals, Peter was in shambles.  Tony had to take him outside where the boy found a place to hide and quietly cry as Tony reassured him that they'd had an awesome season and that he had two medals to show for it.   Once he had the kid calmed down enough to go back inside he was pleased to see that the team greeted him pleasantly while Rob invited him to come help pack up the pit area with them.  

 

When the announcement at the very end of the day had them listed with enough points to just make it over the threshold of making it to the world competition, everyone was shocked and Peter, despite having his ears covered firmly with his hands had a smile on his face that was so wide you would think it would have split his face in two.  Once Tony managed to slip the headphones back over his ears, Peter used his now free hands to hug Tony so tight that he could barely breathe.  This was followed by multiple high-fives with his teammates.  

 

That win had led to a dilemma.  The championship was held in a giant convention center in Detroit.   The venue was huge, the crowds would be large and it was guaranteed to lead to overstimulation even with headphones and fidgets.  Peter insisted he had to go, while May questioned whether or not it was a good idea.  "Tony, it's four days of constant crowds and noise on very little sleep.  He's not going to sleep well in a hotel.  I'm not sure you can handle what may come out of this..."

 

"He's done large events with me before, granted they were only for a few hours but we managed."

 

"You did but think about it.  What did you do when he started to get overstimulated?"

 

Tony didn't even have to think about it.  Terms like meltdown, stemming, sensory-overload and overstimulated were everyday words for him now.  "He sat outside with Happy for a bit... when that wasn't working anymore we left."  Then he saw her point.  There would be no going home because he was ready.  If they went they were there for the duration.  Of course, he could get a private plane or take his car and get them back to New York whenever they needed to go but there would be no instant gratification.

 

This left Tony was torn on the matter.  He'd seen the kid sit on the verge of a sensory overload at the last competition and this one was bigger, longer and further away from home.  But for all they knew it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Eventually, it was decided that if Peter wanted to go, he should get to.  It would be a good experience and Tony could tag along as a chaperone, since May had to work and there was literally less than two weeks' notice.

 

After talking to Peter and May, it was decided that Tony would be there but in the background.  Peter would have independence while on the trip.  He would ride in the car with his teammates and stay with them in the hotel as well.  They were meant to be set up as four boy's per room but Tony paid double to keep Peter's room at three to make it less crowded and Tony would stay in a room in the same hotel so that Peter had somewhere comfortable to escape to.  They had gone over everything with Peter and he seemed more than confident that both adults were overreacting.  He went out as Spider-man nearly every night with no problems.   Neither adult felt the need to explain that he never left his own neighborhood and had the option to come back home whenever things got to be too much. Instead, they just agreed with him.

 

And all of that led up to where they were right now.  Tony, standing outside of the conference center watching Peter bang his head up against a tree and cry that he wanted to go home while the rest of the team was inside cheering. He wasn't even sure what had led up to this moment.  Not for certain.  It had been going well, the first day went by like a breeze.  The second was almost as perfect, outside of a few small anxiety-inducing moments, such as having to order off of a menu at a completely new restaurant.   They had worked there way through it and his team was nothing but supportive. 

 

Day three got a little rough towards the end.  Peter was adamant that he wanted to go back to the hotel by lunch and seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown so Tony had given in.  That was probably his first mistake, but the kid looked exhausted.  In his head, it made sense, let Peter go back to the hotel and catch up on some sleep then the next day, the most important day, he would be more ready to go.  It hadn't worked out quite that perfectly.

 

Peter came back to Tony's room and they both slept, curled up beside each other on the king-sized bed until dinner time.  Then after eating with the team, the kid seemed to be in a much better headspace so he had encouraged him to sleep in the room with his friends for the night.  They had to get up extra early to be at the venue for the final alliance selections.  While they were placed towards the bottom of their field, they had a lot of things going for them and being chosen as a partner by another alliance was a _possibility_.  He really wanted Peter to be there for that. 

 

That might have been his second mistake because when he came down to meet the team for breakfast it didn't look like Peter had slept.  Then when Peter's face scrunched up at the portable breakfast he had been handed, Tony thought they might have already hit the end of their rope for the day.  However, rather than toss the bag filled with a Tampico orange juice, a cup of yogurt and granola bar on the ground he handed it to Tony telling him 'no'.  Tony not wanting the day to go sour, handed him a bottle of Pepsi and promised to show up with a breakfast that he did like soon.  That seemed to work and Peter followed his team out to the cars without another word.  The silence should have clued Tony into just how off the day was going to be.

 

Tony arrived just in time for the alliance selections to start with a McDonald's Sausage McGriddle in hand.  At first, when he didn't see Peter on the stands with his team he panicked.  Checking his messages, there was nothing from Rob indicating that anything was wrong so he took a deep breath and climbed the ungodly amount of stairs up to where Rob and his wife, Joyce, were sitting with the other adults behind the kids.  "Where's Peter?", he asked trying to sound casual.  Joyce smiled and pointed a few rows over to where several teenagers from various teams were gathering on the benches around several Nintendo Switch systems.  Peter was right in the middle of them.  "Katie talked him into going with her to play with them.", she said proudly and rightfully so.  Peter six months ago wouldn't have talked to anyone he didn't know more than a few words here and there without the mask of Spider-man.  The mask seemed to open something up in him.  Maybe it was the barrier of the person not knowing who he was.  There was no expectation.  Whatever the difference was, there was no denying the changes that had come about in maskless-Peter since joining the team.   He was far less shy around new people and with the encouragement of a few select friends he was joining in on more and more social opportunities.

 

Hating to interrupt but also not wanting to hand the boy a cold sandwich later he slipped over towards the group and quietly handed the bag to Katie to give to Peter.  When she did, Peter's eyes flickered up towards Tony and looking him right in the eyes he thanked him.  "You're welcome, Buddy.  I'll be right over there", he said gesturing towards the other adults.  It was then that, the boy finally looked back down at the screen.  

 

Once everyone had been told to put the games away and come sit together for the Selections to start he could see Peter's face fall.  He was worried he was going to have to jump in.  The kid didn't always do well with changing activities so abruptly but with Katie's help, he seemed fine.  Though rather than going to sit with her, he carried his bag over and squeezed himself indirectly beside Tony.  Eating his sandwich, Peter would periodically look over at Tony and just as he was starting to wonder if the boy was trying to suggest that he needed something, Thunderstruck came blaring into the room and the announcer started talking.  Everyone, including Tony's, attention went to that.  It was amazing how quickly he had been sucked into the whole competitive robotics culture.  He certainly approved of the soundtrack... mostly.  He could have done without a few of the songs.  Mainly the Macarena and that mostly because once Peter had mastered the dance, it became a running joke to add said dance to every song that ever played from that day forward. 

 

During the video explaining alliance selections, Peter started getting restless.  Tony offered to take him to walk around but he declined, apparently, they had been told that they should stay in their seats for the process.  Even with reassurances that it would be fine to get up, Peter stayed still.  Alliance selection lasted way longer than it had at any other competition they had been to and he could _feel_ Peter tensing up beside him.  Just as he was about to try to talk the kid into going on a walk with him again, the third seed team called out their team's number as a third pick.  The whole team erupted into cheers around them causing Peter to violently flinch and cover his ears before registering what all of the yellings was about.  Scrambling to get his headphones out of the backpack, Tony quickly set him on his ears and watched Peter visibly relax before everything clicked.  "We got picked!  Oh my God, Mr. Stark!  They picked us!", he laughed, hands flying wildly in the air before coming to a still around Tony's neck in a hug.  It really was something.  

 

After that, Tony let his guard down.  That was mistake number three but just like the other mistakes, it wouldn't add up until later.  The kid smiled through all of the matches and cheered when they won.   Then as if by some miracle the little community team and it's three allied forces managed to win the field.  That would mean, moving on to The Einstein Round Robins.  No one had expected that and it was exciting beyond measure.  Peter nearly couldn't contain himself.  It was an honor to have gotten that far and much to Peter's excitement, it meant another medal to add to his growing collection.

 

Once things had settled down and Peter was happily playing Uno with his team Tony gently patting the boy on the shoulder, he had been reminded that he was in charge of the team's lunch that day.  It was time for him to leave to go get it.  Peter nodded and Tony walked out of the conference center with Joyce and one other adult to collect the multitude of sandwiches he had previously ordered. 

 

When they returned the message was sent out that they were in the courtyard outside and everyone should join them.  Tony wasn't concerned, the team had an established buddy system and Peter was good at following those kinds of rules.  When more than twenty minutes had passed and there was still no Peter, Tony started to get concerned.  Looking around, it appeared that the majority of the team was there already there, save for the drive team and a few mentors.  Asking around, no one had seen him.  Then one of the boys piped up and said that he'd seen Peter leave with another team member.  When Tony questioned that kid, he said that Peter had started with him but then ended up leaving with a different group.  It ended up being a wild goose chase and Tony was getting frustrated.  He had already texted the kid seven times with no reply, a quick check later and he'd figured out why.  The battery on Peter's phone was dead.

 

He wasn't panicked but he was getting there.  It was an insane amount of people exiting the building at the moment.  Tony knew that Peter knew where to go for lunch and figured he would show up eventually but not having a direct line to him was kind of nervewracking.  Just when he was about to go try to track him down himself, Joyce grabbed him by the arm.  "He's fine, Tony.  Rob found him in the bleachers.  Apparently, he got separated from his group and went back there since he didn't have a buddy anymore.  He's in the pit area with him and the drive team.  I've already sent two of the kid's to get him."

 

Tony thanked her and relaxed.  When Peter got to the courtyard he looked a little worse for wear.  He wasn't smiling anymore and he was staying at least five steps behind the two boys who had gone to collect him.  "Hey, Kiddo.  How was the pit?"  Peter didn't answer.  That was fine, he was probably stressed.  "Look why don't you go get a sandwich.", Tony suggested.  When Peter whispered 'no' he tried again.  "Okay, I'm going to go make you a plate.  If you eat it, cool.  It not then that's fine too.  Yeah?"  Peter nodded in the affirmative and Tony took that as a win.

 

After some quiet debate, Peter wolfed down both of the sandwiches Tony had brought him as well as a bag of chips and two cookies.  Tony hoped that was enough to perk him up a bit but it wasn't.  He wanted to go back to the hotel.  He asked at least seven times and Tony deflected each one.  "You let me go yesterday!", the boy finally shouted, hands full of his own hair.

 

"Yeah, I did, Buddy.  We can't do that today, though.  We need to cheer for the team.", he said calmly.  His good deed from the day before was now getting throw back in his face.  He'd accidentally set a precedent that they could just return to the hotel on a whim.

 

Being told 'no' seemed to agitate Peter even more.  He watched as the boy started to pace and backed off.  Sometimes, Peter just needed time to process everything.  He hoped that he would calm down on his own.  Before he had a chance to find out, one of the mentors was grabbing Peter by the arm and tugging him towards where they were taking pictures with the new banner and handing out medals.  For his part, Peter did really well keeping it together for the pictures, though he was about two steps from the rest of the group and there was no convincing him to get any closer.  

 

As everyone else started to mill inside, Tony stayed in the yard with Peter.  The kid was getting more and more worked up.  After fifteen minutes of watching the kid cry, Tony really wanted to relent and take the boy back to the hotel but that would defeat the purpose of them being there.  The team had made it to Einstein and it was a big deal.  Peter would be so mad at himself later if he missed that, he was sure of it.   "Pete, we need to stay here.  Look, let's take a break, yeah?  We can get some shaved ice and then see if we feel like going back inside."

 

"No!", Peter screamed.  "No, I don't want to go back inside.  I want to go to the hotel!  I hate robotics, I hate this team, I hate being here.  Take me  _home_!"  

 

Tony was at a loss.   The kid was standing in front of him completely broken and crying.  He found himself having to glare at people as they walked past too stare.  Especially when Peter started his routine of self-harm.   Tony had never seen it get this bad.  He was used to the hair-pulling but seeing him scratch his arms and hit his head on things was different.  May had reassured him that if it ever came to that, the best thing to do was to let it run it's course unless he was becoming a serious threat to himself or others, not that, that had ever happened.  Watching the boy repeatedly hit his head less than gently on the trunk of the tree beside the path while begging to go home was heartbreaking.  With his own eyes watering, he did as May had suggested and turned his back, only glancing behind him occasionally to make sure that Peter hadn't gone too far.  He finally understood May's concerns.  No one but him could have handled this.  He loved Rob and he loved Joyce and the whole team was fantastic but they wouldn't have been able to handle this.  Looking at his watch, they were already missing the first match.  

 

Next time he turned around, Peter was no longer hurting himself had gone back to pacing.  Tony casually mentioned that he was going to get in line for some shaved ice.  The boy followed him at a distance.  Tony would randomly point out different things for Peter to look at. Like a dog or a cloud that looked like a rabbit. Just talking to talk.  Helping things go back to normal.  By the time they had gotten to the front of the long line, Peter was almost calm.  Tony was getting answers out of him anyway.  Even so, it was clear he was still extremely tense.  

 

Shaved ice in hand, Tony started to wander to a less populated area of the field.  It was quieter.  Eventually, Peter started talking more normally, yet his posture still screamed anxiety and tension.  Looking at his watch again, they had now missed three matches.  Sighing, Tony looked at Peter and decided to bite the bullet.  "Are you ready to go back inside?  This is pretty exciting stuff.  Don't you want to go watch some of it?"  

 

"No", Peter curtly answered.  That seemed to be his word of choice for the day.  

 

Tony gave it a few more minutes and tried again.  "Should we go back inside?"  The expected 'no' came without hesitation.  Tony was starting to think that something else was off so despite the fact that they had just had lunch and the kid was still holding a small dessert in his hands.  So, he started offering things.  Sometimes listing out different possible solutions got the kid thinking about how he was feeling and usually, that helped sort out anything else that might wrong.  "Does your head hurt?", he asked first. It wasn't unusual for Peter to get headaches when he was tired or overstimulated but he would keep quiet about it until it was unbearable if no one asked.

 

"No.  I'm fine.", he grumbled.

 

"Alright.  Good.  Did you get enough to drink at lunch?  Do you need some water?"

 

"No", Peter answered more calmly that he had anything else in the last hour.  He was more than likely already clued in on what Tony was doing.  That meant that this was helping.

 

"Okay... did you get enough to eat?  I can buy you a slice of pizza or something.", he tried fully expecting the kid to decline that too.  He'd had a big lunch.  

 

"I need to pee!", Peter exclaimed in reply, dropping his unfinished cup of shaved ice into the grass as if the urgent need has snuck up on him.  ...it probably had.  He'd been so focused on fighting back the anxiety and sensory input while trying to regulate his emotions that the state of his bladder had probably been placed on the back burner.  That is until he'd started to calm down and Tony had started forcing him to take inventory of his own body.

 

"Okay", Tony said.  He hadn't been expecting that but if the boy was offering that information on his own accord it meant he needed to act fast.  This was going to have to be handled delicately because the bathrooms were inside the building he was currently refusing to go in.  "If you need to pee, then we need to go inside.  The bathrooms are inside."

 

"No", Peter whined as he started to dance from foot to foot.

 

"Listen to me, Bud.  _If you need to pee, then we need to go inside._   We can come back outside after if we need to.  Yeah?"  He held his breath as he waited for Peter to reply.

 

"Yeah.  I need to pee.  Let's go inside.", Peter pitifully decided, allowing Tony to let out the breath he'd been holding.  He wasn't actually sure what his next move was going to be if the kid continued to refuse.  

 

As they made it to the front entrance, Tony managed to skip through the bag check line.  All he'd had to do was flash his media smile and gesture towards the kid behind him who was now holding himself.  The security guard in all his wisdom suggested that Tony leave the backpack with him and pointed towards the closest bathroom.  Peter was antsy about leaving the bag with the unknown person. Tony assured him that it was fine and getting to the bathroom was the priority at the moment. 

 

While Peter was taking care of his business, Tony had time to go through the day and was starting to piece the events that lead up to this point.  He was pretty sure he had it nailed down.  He already knew that the kid was tired.  After napping all afternoon he probably didn't sleep much that night and they'd left really early.  When lunch came around, Peter was going leave with one group but had then changed his mind to go with another.  Probably because the second group was going to stop by a bathroom.  Then he'd gotten lost and he was all of the sudden out of compliance, with he buddy system rule, so he hurried back to the bleacher rather than trying to catch up to the other boys, even though he knew where they were going.  That had more than likely been a panic move, especially if he knew his phone was dead.  Then when Rob found him, he had taken him back to the pit where everyone was probably in a hurry trying to get things packed up to be moved to the assigned alliance pit area. It was probably close quarters and a little chaotic.  Both of those things would be enough to raise Peter's already triggered anxiety.  After lunch, while trying to process and internally deal with all of that, he'd been pulled into pictures and _still_ needed to use the bathroom.  At some point, it all became too much to deal with at once and holding back the tantrum had been a lot of work.  Meaning that when the coast was clear and everyone else was back inside, he'd lost it. 

 

Tony was just thinking that if anything he should be slightly proud that the kid had held it together as long as he had.  Then Peter rapidly exited the restroom and was bouncing in front of him.  "The bag.  Mr. Stark, we need to get the bag.  My things are in it."  

 

"Yeah, alright, let's go get it.", he said swinging an arm over the boy's shoulders.  "Since we're inside, why don't we go see how the team is doing."

 

"Okay, but we have to get my bag first.  I need to get my things."

 

"Of course, first your bag first, then we can go see the team", Tony reassured.  

 

Bag in hand and headphones in place, Peter was more relaxed then Tony had seemed him all day.  When they joined the group in the VIP area with the team.  Peter sat beside Tony and rested his head on his shoulder.  Tony didn't mind.  The kid was already tired and he knew an emotional outburst of that caliber had to be draining all on its own.  As the weight on his shoulder became heavier and heavier he turned his head to check on the overextended child.  While he wasn't asleep, he did have his eyes closed and was taking deep even breaths.   His eyes would periodically crack open when the crowd got particularly loud to see what all of the fuss was about.  

 

When all was said and done, their alliance hadn't made it to the highly coveted honor of getting to play on the Einstien Field but it had been an amazing season.  To have gotten as far as they had something to be so proud of.  He thought Peter would be disappointed but he seemed fine.  "You did good, Kid.  Look at that.  You're part of an Einstien team now.  How about that?"

 

"Mm-hmm", Peter hummed tiredly.  "Can we go to the hotel now, Mr. Stark?"

 

"No, Pete.  We're going to go to Ford Field to watch the final match."  When Peter whined, Tony continued.   "I know you're tired.  So here's the deal.  First, we're going to watch the finals, then we can go back to the hotel.  We can eat and go to bed right after if you want.  You can even stay in my room if you'd rather."

 

"Promise?"

 

"I promise.  Let's see this through, alright?  Part of gracious professionalism is cheering for the other teams, yeah?  When Peter nodded his head Tony sighed.  That had been a lot easier than he thought it was going to be.  "We're fixing to walk over to the other venue  Do you need a drink or a snack?  Need to pee?"  When Peter confirmed that he didn't need any of those things they started walking to catch up with the group.  No one batted an eye at the way Peter was clinging to Tony's hand both of his.  It was probably clear to the rest of the group that Peter was not having a great day.  

 

Sitting in the chairs at Ford Feild was interesting.  It was almost comedic to see the robotics playing field set in the corner of a huge arena.  While everyone was finding their seats music started playing.    It was all of the usual dance songs they used at every competition they had been to.   Tony smiled at the screen as dozens upon dozens of teenagers and did the Cupid Shuffle and YMCA.  Then that god-forsaken Macarena song came on and rather being annoyed, Tony was elated to see Peter perk up and join some of his friends in the ridiculously repetitive motions.  He took a quick video and sent it off to May.  He was sure she was worried.  He's sent her several messages that day and hardly any of them had been great.  

 

Once the speeches and awards started the arena grew somewhat quiet and Peter ended up asleep slumped down in his chair, still holding Tony's hand.  Just before the actual match was about to start Tony reached in his pocket with his free hand and got out his wallet and handed a fifty-dollar bill to the kid beside him.  "Think you could go get me one of those large popcorns and two bottles of water?  You can even keep the change.", he smiled.  

 

"Of course, Mr. Stark!", The boy beamed.

 

"Hey, hey!  Take a buddy with you.  I don't want to get in trouble for this!", he called after the kid who then quickly grabbed a buddy.  

 

Once he had the goods he woke Peter up.  "Hey, Kiddo.  Wake up time.  I got you some popcorn and a drink."  Peter groaned but accepted the snack.  Tony was sure he would, it was way past the time they would normally eat dinner.  By the time the match actually started Peter was wide awake and in a good mood.  They cheered for the Red Alliance because that was Peter's favorite color and when they won he was ecstatic.  

 

The night was set to end with fireworks but he didn't know how Peter felt about that so he gave him the choice.  "Do you want to stay for fireworks or do you want to go to the hotel now?"  He was surprised when the answer was 'stay'.  He was even more surprised when he stood there face all aglow from the sparkling lights, with a smile.  Not the wide grin Tony was used to seeing, it was more of a relaxed, contented smile.  He took several pictures of that too.  

 

Peter ended up riding back to the hotel with Tony rather than the team but that was okay.  Once they got there, everyone was already outside by the public grill fixing hotdogs and grabbing chips.  Peter casually joined the group and held out a plate to receive his dinner and Tony just sat back and watched.  

 

"Are you going to eat too, Mr. Stark?", Peter asked through the hotdog being stuffed in his mouth.

 

"Yep, just waiting for all of the ravenous teenagers to get their's first."

 

Peter just nodded and continued to eat his way through his plate. Tony eventually made it into the line at the grill and got an extra hotdog for Peter before rejoining the boy at the picnic table.  "Thank you, sir.", Peter said when Tony added the new hotdog to the plate.  "I can still stay with you tonight right?"

 

"Of course, wouldn't have it any other way, Kid.  It's our last night here.  We get to go home tomorrow."  

 

Peter smiled as he wiped some stray mustard off his chin.  "This was fun but I'm ready to go home.", he admitted.

 

"Me too, Bud."  Then as soon as their plates were cleaned up they were both excusing themselves to their room.  It was a little after ten but Tony was pretty sure he could sleep for an entire week at this stage.  Peter had collected all of his things from the other room and was in the bathroom getting ready for bed while Tony texted May with their travel plans.  As soon as he came out, Tony went in and got himself ready. 

 

Soon they were both in the bed and rather than curling up beside him like he had the day before, Peter rested his head right on Tony's shoulder.  When Tony looked down at him, Peter looked up and their eyes met.  It was the second time that day, that Peter had looked at him so directly for such a long stretch.  "What are you thinking about, Buddy?", the man whispered.  He could see the wheels turning in the boy's head. 

 

"That you helped me today.", Peter said with no real context.

 

"Yeah?", Tony answered, not really sure what to say to that.

 

"Yeah.  I like it when you help me.", he yawned.

 

"I like helping you.", Tony said in earnest because he did.  He hated to see the kid struggle and watching him fall apart today had been one of the hardest things he'd ever witnessed.  He didn't know how May did it all the time.   Sighing a contented sigh, he continued, "I like it when you help me too."  Peter just smiled at him and yawned again.  "You should go to sleep, Kiddo."

 

Peter readjusted himself on the bed before he answered.  His head was still on Tony's shoulder but now his arm was stretched out across the man's middle and one of his knees were bent over Tony's outstretched legs.  "May says that People who love you want to help you.  Do you love me?"

 

The question made Tony stiffen a bit.  He'd never thought about it before.  When they had met it was out of necessity.  When he had started hanging out with the kid it had been out of duty.  At some point, the feeling of responsibility to keep the kid safe had started to tightly intertwine with a completely new feeling.  One that wanted him to be more than safe, but also happy and successful.  He wanted to see him thrive.  He had to take a deep breath to keep these new emotions at bay.  "Yeah, Kid.  I love you a whole lot.", he finally managed to get out.

 

"I love you too... a whole lot.", the boy sleepily replied as he pulled himself in a little more closely.  "Ned stays at his dad's house every other weekend.  Can I stay with you every other weekend?"

 

Tony couldn't help but smile because it sounded like the kid had basically just asked him if he would be his father.  "Yeah, Buddy.  I would love that.", he whispered.  

 

"Me too.  Good night... Dad."

 

Tony picked his head up off the pillow and looked down at the head pressed tightly into his collarbone and stared for a moment.  He and Peter's relationship had been evolving for some time now.  They had been slowly building up mutual trust and Tony knew that they had gotten close enough that the boy would meet his eye sometimes when they spoke or would occasionally ask him for things and share secrets.  Their world's had slowly collided into one and this trip must have proven to solidify everything they had been working towards.  Peter loved him... and he loved Peter in return.  He'd called him dad.  The idea was breathtaking.  Leaning in to kiss the top of the boy's head he smiled to himself before whispering to the boy, "Good night, son."

 

 


End file.
